[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14867]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           AMERICAN NEEDS A NEW DIRECTION TO COMBAT TERRORISM

  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to speak out of 
order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Solis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight because I believe that America 
needs a new direction to secure our country and combat terrorism. We 
need a new direction so our children and our children's children will 
live in a safer and more secure world.
  On May 1, 2003, President Bush declared that Iraq is free, that major 
combat operations in Iraq have ended. Yet in more than 3 years since, 
our world has not become a safer place, and our military families 
continue to suffer. More than 130,000 U.S. troops are serving in Iraq 
and more than 10,500 members of the selected Reserves have been 
deployed more than three times. Ninety-seven percent of the National 
Guard combat and special operations battalions have been mobilized 
since September 11, 2001, and the average tour of duty for National 
Guard members is 342 days.

                              {time}  1945

  Two thousand five hundred fifty-three of our men and women have paid 
the ultimate price. That includes 11 members that I represent from East 
Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley: Private First Class Jose 
Casanova, age 23. Lance Corporal Manuel Ceniceors, age 23. Lance 
Corporal Francisco Martinez Flores, age 21. Sergeant First Class Kelly 
Bolor, age 38. Lance Corporal Benjamin Gonzalez, age 23. Corporal Jorge 
Gonzalez, age 20. Sergeant Atanacio Haro-Marin, age 27. Specialist 
Leroy Harris-Kelly, III, age 20. Corporal Stephen Johnson, age 24. 
Corporal Rudy Salas, age 20. And, lastly, Marine Corporal Carlos 
Arellano, age 22.
  Another 10,327 have been injured, not including more than 8,500 who 
have been injured so badly that they cannot return to action. I 
strongly support our servicemen and women that have performed admirably 
under these very difficult conditions. These conditions have been 
worsened by the lack of needed supplies, and our men and women continue 
to serve without a plan to secure the peace.
  Today, the Government Accountability Office testified that Congress 
had appropriated $430 billion to the Department of Defense for the 
global war on terror. According to the GAO, and I quote: ``Neither the 
DOD nor the Congress reliably know how much the war is costing 
Americans.''
  The GAO also testified that the U.S. can expect to incur significant 
costs for an unspecified time in the future, requiring decision-makers 
to consider difficult trade-offs. As the Nation faces increasing long-
range fiscal challenges, we have seen some of the trade-offs already.
  Critical programs remain unfunded and underfunded by this 
administration, and our veterans and their families are the ones that 
are suffering. There are $3 billion worth of gaps in needed services 
for our Nation's veterans. The number of new veterans waiting for 
health care appointments at the VA, the Veterans Administration, has 
risen by 400 percent over the last 2 years.
  Funding for Homeland Security is suffering too. And as a result, 
because of the administration's misguided policies, first responder 
grants have been slashed by 59 percent, and only 5 percent of 
containers entering the U.S. ports are screened, and there are 800 
fewer border patrol agents than what was authorized in the 9/11 
Commission Act.
  Afghanistan is also suffering from the Bush administration's 
misguided policies. Secretary Rumsfeld wrote in a letter today that the 
United States maintains its strong commitment to Afghan's success. We 
look forward to continuing our strong partnership, he said.
  Yet the people in Afghanistan are not feeling that commitment. 
Between November 2003 and April 2006, the number of insurgents has 
quadrupled from 5,000 to 20,000. The average number of daily attacks by 
insurgents has climbed by more than 70.
  The Afghan Defense Minister recently stated that Afghanistan needs 
five times the number of security forces to address the issue of a 
resurgent Taliban. And without them, Afghanistan is in real danger of 
collapse. If his warnings were not enough, just today the Taliban 
recaptured two towns in the southern province of Pakistan's border.
  Despite the increasing conflict in Afghanistan, despite the lack of a 
plan for peace in Iraq, despite the lack of accountability for 
government contracts, and despite the trade-offs on homeland security, 
important first responder programs, the administration wants the United 
States to stay the course.
  I could not disagree more. War and military might alone does not show 
strength in foreign policy rooted in a unilateral and preemptive action 
which does not achieve peace for Americans. America needs a new 
direction
  Mr. Speaker, we must seize the moment and insist on a new direction 
for America so our children and our children's children will live in a 
safer and more secure environment.

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